. >> reporter: and house speaker john boehner opened the door to higher taxes. >> good evening, everyone. for the purposes of forging a bipartisan agreement that begins to solve the problem, we're willing to accept new revenue under the right conditions. >> reporter: conceding his loss, mitt romney called for compromise. >> at a time like this, we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work. >> reporter: how did the people of america reject romney? one reason is our population has changed. a smaller share of whites voted, down to 72% of the total. more minorities voting, more young people. changes that favor democrats like barack obama. he reached out last night to romney backers. >> and whether i earned your vote or not, i have listened to you. i have learned from you. >> reporter: some republicans say they better learn from an election that gave barack obama four more years. bipartisanship will get an immediate test. the dreaded fiscal cliff, automatic across-the-board tax hikes, and deep spending cuts are ju